Fun theory, thought I would share and ask your thoughts.

I saw this online and wasn't too shocked at the results just a little disappointed. I know that if things are fun for people they are more likely to want to do it. To me you don't need science to prove that. What bothers me is why does it have to be fun if it's for the better of society, the planet and yourself? Shouldn't you WANT to do better for yourself and the planet? Why should things have to be made fun to do so?

The funny thing about escalators is that they are meant to be walked up and down not standing and waiting. Those things are slow as ever BUT if you walk it's much quicker than the stairs or escalator. People always give me grief when I walk up an escalator. I usually use the stairs but if I am in a hurry I walk the escalator or if it's one of those flat moving walk ways I walk on that. You get exercise with it so to me it's a benefit.

I put this in this forum because I felt it had to do with our own mindset and why if something is made fun people want to do it. There was another video on the The Fun Theory where they turned a glass recycle bin into a game and more people used it that night that the normal one around the corner. The normal one was used twice!

Why is that? Am I the only one puzzled by this?

Here are the piano stairs, which btw are pretty cool. I would play on them myself.




Here is the recycle bin



I agree that yes these do attract more attention. The other question I have if things were made fun how long before the novelty worn off and people went back to doing things the other way?

Your thoughts and opinions are welcomed

I don't think fun is the take all. Some people would rather do something they are used to, or even something that makes them feel good, before fun. For instance, sex, for me isn't necessarily fun, (its exhausting) but I'd rather do that than say, play video games.

[edit on 4-9-2010 by Myendica]

reply to post by Myendica


Wow wow wow wow.... Which computer game?

Just kidding sex trumps everything IMO.

---------

I have to say I agree with you mblahnikluver I also wonder just how much energy is used in both the musical stair case and the arcade recycling machine. Recycling is already a feather balanced form of energy conservation as it is, expending more to promote it seems nonsensical to me.

It's like here in the UK there was a scheme trialled a few years ago in school canteens where they coloured the vegetables to make kids more interested. This amounted to green mash purple carrots and other ridiculous abominations. Here's an idea for the think tanks proper education of the benefits of self-improvement and you won't need to trick people into doing them.

walking up - use escalator, walking down - use stairs

Less energy used. I manage to go down in almost freefall speed, need good shoes tho. Escalator = boring

People need the desire for change to act accordingly. Making things "fun" will spark a desire, yet it is not that of improvement, I think. There's such a personal level in these kinds of matters and unfortunately I believe we can't really help others in that way and probably shouldn't, as the desire to change must be something from within as a kind of "lesson".

Originally posted by RainCloud

I manage to go down in almost freefall speed,

Is this a word association game?

Sorry, couldn't resist!


Yes, finding ways to make even the most mundane tasks fun is healthy. Fun, enjoyment, laughter, triggering endorphines and other positive mood enhancing secretions (!), the Patch Adams school of medicine perhaps?

I remember once, stuck in a traffic jam, the guys in the vehicle next to ours stuck cigarettes in all their facial orifaces and began playing to the 'crowd'. A dull experience became a fun experience. We eventually moved on in a far lighter frame of mind than we had been (fractious children and all that).

It got me to thinking. I work with an animal rescue charity (was doing some work for them yesterday, advising them on Facebook and other social media things) and thinking that something similar to the "Begging robot" might work to collect donations at a large event. They're trying to build a triage center where people could take baby birds or squirrels or injured wildlife so that these creatures can get to people who specialize in taking care of them.

The main issue would be building the circuitry.

I also love the interactive garbage cans. At the Audubon park, we have large groups of kids from elementary schools who come to take our one-morning, "hands on" interaction with wildlife. They stay for lunch... and oh boy, do they leave a mess!

The interactive garbage cans would make the work of Patsy, our hard-working janitor, MUCH easier!

(sigh) Now if we could just install them on the Trinity River and make recycling old tires fun. You wouldn't believe the numbers of tires I saw in the river bed on a short canoe trip this past week.

...I just noticed something about this on the Lego site. The problem is, the device they show is made out of an old computer and not Legos.

But that got me to thinking -- I do have the Cricket module for Lego and I wonder if it has a sensor that I can program to sing when something drops inside.

I think they should make everything fun.

It does'nt suprise me as to why we have such a massive computer games industry. All because we crave fun in our lives to rid that 90% of mundane life we have to live. Working with no play, all we seem to do is just survive these days.

S+F for you.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I find myself split in how I am feeling after watching this. As informative as this was, one of my FIRST thoughts were: with all that money spent on this experiment, about 100 homeless people around the world could've eaten for months.

I just can't help but notice how we appropriate funds and prioritize things so frivolously in this world.

Interesting video!

reply to post by mblahnikluver


www.primitivism.com...
"This false self is observable in the frozen facial expressions, stereotypic gestures, and unexamined behavioral patterns of the general public. This false self determines much of our everyday lives, so that we are seldom the origin of our actions. "

This happens in "civilization". People are not themselves anymore.

Free people:
paimei01.blogspot.com...

It's a great idea, and I agree that making something that is normally mundane into something fun increases the chances of people doing it. It is just sad that we as a society have come to this. Exercise in it's own right is fun - the joy from doing what the human body was designed to do - move. Why do we need to be convinced, or conned or coerced into it? Reconnect with your natural selves, people! We are designed to move, so get off the couch!

Originally posted by Myendica
I don't think fun is the take all. Some people would rather do something they are used to, or even something that makes them feel good, before fun. For instance, sex, for me isn't necessarily fun, (its exhausting) but I'd rather do that than say, play video games.

[edit on 4-9-2010 by Myendica]

If sex isn't fun then you're doing it wrong.

As for these stairs, well i know what the OP is saying, people should want to walk them anyway but whats wrong with bringing a little joy to the world? These people were laughing and smiling and that seems worthwhile.

What a great thread.

Humans like to have fun! We like to experience things, and there needs to be a balance to those things. One on my favorite mottos of all time is WORK HARD, PLAY HARD!

It is a very simple philosophy, and it makes perfect sense to me. If you work hard, reward yourself with something that you find fun.

Animals play around and have fun, remember that we are animals too.

About a month ago, I was in a very childish mood. It started raining outside at my friends house, and I told my friend, "You know what? I feel like sprinting off into this rain!" He had no objections, and I took off sprinting as fast as I could into the rain all the way down the street. It felt so good to run, feel the rain on my body, as I was cheered with delight for this glorious moment!

It was so fun. We need these moments in our lives to keep us sane.



-SES

Originally posted by Byrd
It got me to thinking. I work with an animal rescue charity (was doing some work for them yesterday, advising them on Facebook and other social media things) and thinking that something similar to the "Begging robot" might work to collect donations at a large event. They're trying to build a triage center where people could take baby birds or squirrels or injured wildlife so that these creatures can get to people who specialize in taking care of them.

That is great, I have always enjoyed helping animals.

I had a baby owl fall out of the tree in my front yard and break a wing. I called animal control and they put me in contact with a local rescue shelter. They came out the next morning to pick up the owl. In the mean time I put the owl in a box with some stuff from outside so it was like it's home as much as I could. It tried to fly a couple time but kept hurting itself because of the broken wing. I gave it some veggie pieces, they told me that was fine and some water.

The owl was really cute too. I didn't sleep all night. The owl was pretty mellow after an hour of it being scared but I made sure it didn't feel too threatened or scared. The rescue people came and picked the owl up the next morning. They said they wouldn't be able to release it back to the mother because she would smell us on the baby and not want it anymore. So they nursed the owl back to health and released it like 6 months later. I always wonder what happened to that little guy.

I also love the interactive garbage cans. At the Audubon park, we have large groups of kids from elementary schools who come to take our one-morning, "hands on" interaction with wildlife. They stay for lunch... and oh boy, do they leave a mess!

I can imagine It would make putting the garbage away fun or a game and kids love that kind of stuff.

Sort of like how some parents make potty training fun. My friends daughter insisted I have a potty chart and got stars too when she was getting potty trained. It was cute but she made us all have our names on the chart and she made sure we marked it and got our stars. It was too cute. It was the only thing that worked to get her potty trained. Her mom had tried everything else..

The interactive garbage cans would make the work of Patsy, our hard-working janitor, MUCH easier![/quite]
That would be nice

(sigh) Now if we could just install them on the Trinity River and make recycling old tires fun. You wouldn't believe the numbers of tires I saw in the river bed on a short canoe trip this past week.

Wow that is sad. I am lucky to say that I live around many different water ways, I technically live on an island and all bodies of water in and around it are pretty clean. I just wish people wouldnt trash the beach so much in certain areas. That always bothers me and I find myself cleaning up the beach when I go there sometimes. The funny thing is you walk right past a garbage can at every approach. So I could never figure out why people couldn't just take it and put it in the garbage when they walk right by it every time?!

Originally posted by Ezappa
I think they should make everything fun.

It does'nt suprise me as to why we have such a massive computer games industry. All because we crave fun in our lives to rid that 90% of mundane life we have to live. Working with no play, all we seem to do is just survive these days.

S+F for you.

Thank you

If something isn't fun for me personally but I have to do it I will try and make it fun so I can enjoy it. I think people should make things fun for themselves, it's more interesting that way

I am not a video game person, personally I have a short attention span with them for some reason. I have tried to play but lose interest in 10mins or so. I do like the older video games like NES, the new ones have to many buttons!

Agreed, everyone needs some fun in their life.

Originally posted by Human_Alien
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

I find myself split in how I am feeling after watching this. As informative as this was, one of my FIRST thoughts were: with all that money spent on this experiment, about 100 homeless people around the world could've eaten for months.

Yes that is true but that isn't the point of their experiment. Their experiment has nothing to do with the homeless. It is about making everyday things fun to see if people chose something else over what they would normally do.

Think of all the other experiments out there that our own government wastes money on which should be used to help the homeless. Instead they cause more, but that is another thread.

I just can't help but notice how we appropriate funds and prioritize things so frivolously in this world.

Interesting video!

Well people have a right to test their experiments like this and it was all in the name of fun. I don't think the money used to do this is as high as some of the money our government uses to test it own people.

I agree the world is frivolous but this doesn't seem that frivolous. Now the Oval Office rug THAT is frivolous spending.

THanks for your reply even though we may not see it the same way but I understand your thoughts on it.

edit to fix quotes

[edit on 9/5/2010 by mblahnikluver]

Call me easily amused, if you like, but I don't think I'd ever get sick of using that bottle-bank.

Also, think of all the combinations you could use while climbing those ''piano stairs'', black-black, white-black, white-white, left-right, left-black-right, the possibilities are ( almost ) endless !

Thanks for sharing OP! S&F

I love this one:



Now if the local police departments would implement this, then I'm certain that incidents of speeding would be reduced tremendously. Imagine getting paid for following the speed limit, just as you get fined for exceeding it.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


My bf would have to drag me off those stairs. I played on one of those keyboards you saw in big at an FAO Schwartz and it was so much fun! Adults have more fun that kids. I think those things make us remember when we were younger and things seemed easier, light and fun. I know that is how I feel.